


Crystals

by Knife_Consumer



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, ONLY BRIEFLY THO - Freeform, brrr one sided attraction, elderbug and nymm are mentioned, i just want myla to be happy, omg i yped this out before and lost it all so i cried ant then re-writed it in like two hours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26262673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knife_Consumer/pseuds/Knife_Consumer
Summary: Myla didn't know how long she had been down here, in these mines. But that was ok, she had the crystals to keep her company.
Relationships: Hornet/Myla (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 34





	Crystals

Everyday, Myla would do the same things, it was her routine, and she wouldn't break it for any reason: Mine until she fills up a cart, leave temporarily to go find food, and then return to work even more. Nothing could interrupt this, not even sleep.  
"But that's ok!" She would tell the travellers, who were few and far in between. "Working without sleeping is great, actually! With no breaks imagine how rich I'll be!" The people she told this to would only give her so much as a worried glance, before carrying on. And so she grew lonely. Mining became dull.

She needed something to do that would pass the time, other than mining, of course. And so she began to sing. Myla didn't exactly know what she was singing, she had never heard this song before, it just.... came to her one day. Even though she had never heard anything remotely like it, it felt so familiar, even if she only remembered the first verse. 

But the crystals helped her remember.

When they started whispering to her, she couldn't remember. Did they start abruptly, or had they eased themselves in? How long have I been down here? Am I losing my mind? Was what Myla had thought at first, and understandably so. Hearing whispers surround you from every angle isn't exactly comforting.  
Anyone who wished to keep their sanity would have left by now, but to Myla, the whispers were comforting. So friendly and sweet. They invited her to stay, to mine even more.  
To sing that forgotten song with them, and remember the lyrics, together.

Myla stayed, and listened to the soft murmurs of the crystals as she worked. So warm and inviting, yet not exactly loud enough to hear. She had to strain at first to hear what they would say to her. And when she finally understood them it was so much more clear.  
They were her friends.

Everytime she'd swing her pick axe down onto the crystals below, they would praise her for her efforts. And when she'd scoop them up in her hands, and hold them to her head to listen, they would tell her more and more about how she was so strong.  
Such a hard worker.  
A friend to them... to all of them.  
Yet her loneliness persisted. Though she did love listening to the crystals and singing in the mines, she longed to talk with another bug.

How long had it been since she visited that little town on the surface? Her grandpa must be worried. Had he left his little spot by the bench to look for her? Whenever she thought of things like this, the crystals would grow louder.  
"Myla! Myla! Don't go! We've been so alone all of this time. So alone without you, trapped in this rock. You need to stay, mine more! Free us from the rock!"  
And she stayed.

As the days... weeks.. months went by? Myla wasn't sure anymore. As time flew by, the crystals became more...  
clingy  
When Myla left to find food, they would cry for her return.  
And whenever she passed out, they would scream until she woke up again.  
But to Myla, everthing was still fine.

One day, she realized that she had remembered the entirety of the song she had starting singing so long ago. All thanks to the crystals.

"Oh, bury my mother, pale and slight,  
Bury my father with his eyes shut tight!  
Bury my sisters two by two,  
And when you're done, let's bury me too!

Oh, bury the knight with her broken nail,  
Bury the lady, lovely and pale!  
Bury the preist in his tattered gown,  
Then bury the beggar with his shining crown!

Bury my body, cover my shell,  
What meaning in darkness? Yet here I remain.  
I'll wait here forever, till light blooms again."

She sang, her voice once soft, now gravely and quiet. But that didn't bother her. She remembered the lyrics, that's all that matters! Admittedly, it is a lot more... morbid than she remembered it being. But as long as she had something to entertain herself, she was happy.  
She sang her little song.  
Over,  
and over,  
and over again.  
Her voice echoing throughout the crossroads.

\------

Hornet ran, fumbling over platforms and nearly tripping over a tik-tik. How long had she been running? She didn't know, but her breaths were ragged, and her legs were so tired, they were almost numb. She needed to find a safe resting spot, and soon.  
Dirtmouth.  
Thats where she needed to go.

Hornet wasn't usually one who enjoyed asking for help, but in this situation, she could make an exception. There it was, the light pouring down from the well.  
Just as she lunged for the chain to hoist herself up, she paused. Loosening her grip on the chain, Hornet listened intently to her surroundings, and, sure enough, she heard a voice. Intrigued, she let go of the chain entirely, leaning towards where the voice was echoing from.

Moving closer, it sounded like... singing? Curiosity got the best of her, as she drew her needle back and set of to find this stranger, opting to take care of her wounds later. As long as she was careful, she would be fine.

After a bit of searching, she found the source. The voice was coming from a mine, quite possibly connected to crystal peak. (A terrible place that Hornet absolutely despised.) Upon entering the mine, she found that the voice wasn't as smooth as she previously thought it to be. It sounded as though whoever was singing hadn't drank anything in ages.  
Concerned, she pressed closer, maneuvering down a hole, careful not to worsen her injuries.

After squeezing through the hole, she was greeted with exactly what she had been looking for.

A small, round little bug at the far end of the room. So small, in fact, that she had to lurch her whole body forward to swing her pick axe down. She was singing a song that hornet had never heard before. It was... an odd one. To say the least.

Hornet approched silently with her needle drawn back and spoke, low and stern,  
"Turn around slowly, little bug. Drop your pick and state your name."

No response. They had stopped singing and mining completely. All was silent.

And then, abruptly, she whipped her head around with a burst of energy. "Hello? I. You, I'm Myla, a-and- oh!"

Hornet held her needle under the smaller bug's chin. The sharpened metal having no doubt at least pricked her. "Drop the pick. Now."

Nearly petrified, Myla squeaked out "yes!" Before dropping the pick that landed with a clank.  
Lightening the pressure, but not letting up completely, Hornet pressed further, 

"Myla, was it?"

"Y-yes!"

"Mm..." Being this close to the smaller bug, Hornet had noticed just how weak she was. She had bags under her eyes, her voice was... just... awful, and she was trembling. Did something happen to her for her to get this way?  
Knowing that Myla was too physically weak to harm her, and that she definently wasn't infected, Hornet dropped her gaurd.  
"Why are you mining here?"

"what?"

"You know there's a town not far above us, right? If you're needing a place to stay, the people there will help you."

"O-oh! Yes, I, I know about the t-town but.. I uh, have to stay here."

"hm?"

"You, uh, you see... the. T- the crystals... they n-need me to stay... I can't.." Myla fell silent for a bit, then continued,  
"The crystals s-said I need to stay and, and... free them f-from the rocks... I can't leave.. hahh.."  
Myla reached for her pick axe.  
"Not yet..."

The crystals said? What was wrong with this girl? Has she been down here so long that she lost her mind? Hornet began, "Myla, what?-"

But a glint in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and as she turned around, Hornet was hit with the sickening realization of what she was looking at.

Oh.

Carts, at least twenty, all overflowing with gems. Next to those carts were barrels, and strung around those barrels were even more gems, quiet possibly in the thousands, piled high around the whole stash. Had she done all of this alone? Hornet looked back to the smaller bug for awnsers, only to find that she was back to mining again. Singing that same song over and over to amuse herself.

Rushing over to Myla, hornet grabbed her by the wrist and tried to pull her away, only for Myla to stop them by slamming her pick into the ground. "Hey, w-what are you doing? Stop! I n-need to mine more!"

"No Myla! I'm taking you to Dirtmouth! You've done enough!"

"B-But!-" Hornet let go and whipped herself around to face Myla.

"Myla we're-"

Orange. Myla's eyes were orange.

Hornet darted back to the far side of the room. Drawing back her needle, the fresh silk that had been tied to it glistened in the dim Lighting of the hole the two were in. Hornet wouldn't hesitate to skewer Myla if she attacked, and she would feel no remorse in doing so. Once someone is infected, you can't save them anyway. They would have already been killed from the inside out.

But Myla never attacked. Never grabbed her pick from out of the ground. Why? Instead, she just stood, completely silent and unmoving. Just... staring. Hornet moved, but Myla's eyes did not follow.

After what felt like an eternity, Myla spoke, barely a whisper, "How long.... h-how long have I b-been here?..." dragging over to her stash at the other side of the room, stopping halfway. "this... I.... I want t-to go home.... I want to go home...." She was shaking. "I... you.. please... the crystals they won't... they won't st-stop... make it stop.... please, please.. It's b-been too long.... home, home... please..." 

Hornet lowered her nail once again. "Myla..." gently scooping up the smaller bug in her arms and not to startle her, Hornet exited the mines and started on her way to Dirtmouth. With little protests from Myla whining about how the crystals were angry, and trying to squirm out of Hornets grip. 

"Myla... I'm taking you back to town, the people there will help you, I promise. Promise me... promise me you won't go back to those mines, ever." I won't be here to make sure you don't... I have to... do things." 

Myla nodded, jolting a bit when Hornet started to scale the chain that lead to Dirtmouth. 

\------- 

It had been a while since the incident in the mines, and Myla had almost made a full recovery. It was astounding really, just how fast she could heal. The bags under her eyes were gone, her voice wasn't as raspy, and she had stopped trembling, for the most part. Everyone was happy over her return, but out all of them, the Elderbug was the happiest. Hornet wondered why, but had always forgot to ask. 

Right now, she was reading a book with Myla, or at least trying to. Recently, the little ghost made a new friend, Nymm was his name? It's not like Hornet didn't like the accordion, but it was hard to concentrate on a book when that was constant background noise. She just sighed loudly and hoped that the guy got the message, which, thankfully, he did. 

As the music faded out, Myla spoke up from her side of the bench, "Hey, Hornet?" 

"Yes?" Hornet closed the book to give Myla her full attention. She dosen't like to admit it, but she had definently grown attached to her. Myla was just so... friendly and sweet. Such a nice change from the gloom of Hallownest. 

"I just... I never got to uh, properly th-thank you, I don't think. You... you saved me back, back there.. so j-just thank you... for everything." 

"Uh,, yeah. Of course, no problem..." Hornet buried her face back into her book. This wasn't even intresting. Why would she ever buy it? 

"Oh, and uh, H-Hornet?" 

Hornet cleared her throat, not taking her face out of hiding. "Yeah?" 

"Thanks for being my friend." 

Hornet was taken back by this, pausing for a minute before finally speaking, "No problem, Myla." Of course. Just friends, she needed to remember that. But it was so easy to forget. 

It was silent for a while after that, excluding the soft playing of the accordion, along whith the chatter of Zote the dunce? Was that is name? Something like that. But Hornet didn't care too much for him. She cared for the small bug next to her. Such a shame that it's not mutual... 

"Well, Myla... " Hornet closed her book and stood up. "I think I'm gonna go take a rest." 

"Oh! Uh, ok! S-see you later then!" Myla grinned, and Hornet smiled back. 

"Yeah, see you later." 

As hornet walked away, she promised herself that once she had the chance, she would finally tell Myla how she felt. 

Soon.


End file.
